Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
by EdgeOfSeventeen
Summary: AU. Sakura hated family weddings. Apart from the cake, she loved the cake. And the free bar. But a handsome stranger, who has been 'observing' her, is about to give her some home truths.


**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me!**

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'This is possibly the most inappropriate wedding song of all time,' Sakura Haruno thought to herself.

Still seated at her table, Sakura rolled her eyes at the ridiculous Public Display of Affection her cousin Emi and brand new husband were currently performing for the wedding guests, while their first dance song was blasted throughout the hall by the worst DJ in history.

'Who in their right mind would consider the song 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' romantic?', she thought despairingly, wondering how long this marriage would actually last with an attitude like that.

Sakura's numerous aunts and female cousins lined the dance floor, tears of joy swimming in their eyes at the apparent display of undying love. Sakura, for one, was glad she could remove herself from this moment and appreciate how ludicrous weddings truly were.

"How am I related to so many morons that actually believe all this lovey-dovey crap?" She mumbled to herself, shoving another forkful of wedding cake into her mouth.

To state the obvious, Sakura hated weddings. With a family as big as hers they happened at least once a year. Her roles in each ranged from being maid of honour (which thankfully was for her best friend Ino who she chose to put up with as opposed to her family who she was forced to interact with), to only having to attend the after party. The latter type of wedding was her favourite; although she was forced to attend by her mother, at least all she was expected to do was turn up in a pretty dress, have her fair share of drinks from the free bar, and possibly finish the night hooking up with another guest.

Unfortunately for her, this particular wedding was for her cousin Emi, and as she was closest in age to her, Sakura was an obligatory bridesmaid. Sakura was currently eating her own weight in wedding cake, a bottle of wine, which she intended on finishing quickly to make the wedding slightly more sufferable, hidden under the table so she could avoid any disapproving stares and questions as to why she needed a whole bottle to herself. She was also wearing the worst dress in the history of bad bridesmaid dresses. The 'What Were They Thinking' pages in celebrity magazines had nothing on this monstrosity. It was orange. With ruffles. One of her best friends, Hinata, a quiet, kind girl who literally didn't have the ability to be mean about anything, had dissolved in to hysterical giggles so uncharacteristically loud at the sight of Sakura's bridesmaid dress, that Sakura was pretty close to slapping her, just to stop her from hyperventilating. If Hinata couldn't find a redeeming quality of the dress, she knew it was particularly hideous.

Sakura had honestly believed that the stories of brides making their bridal party wear awful dresses to enhance their own beauty were a cruel joke and women were actually in this together, that they wanted their own sex to feel comfortable and presentable while being forced to take part in the wedding. But now, Sakura was pretty convinced that when a woman is about to become a bride, she became a heartless, self-obsessed monster.

In truth, Emi and Sakura had never really got along. They were assumed to be best friends because they were born within weeks of each other, and incidentally their own mothers were twins. But whereas Emi was the definition of a man-eating, soulless bimbo (in Sakura's humble opinion), Sakura was a tomboy who actually possessed a brain. Of course she had her own boy-obsessed moments, but instead of discovering lip-gloss and stuffing her bra as a way to entice the boys like her cousin, she would hit the boys she liked and try out her karate moves on them. Her first heartbreak occurred when, at the age of nine, she had accidentally given her first love a nosebleed when an attempt to be nice had accidentally turned into swift kick to the face. The boy had avoided her for the next few years. Of course in the years of high school that followed, her friend Ino had (mostly) corrected Sakura's inexplicable need to be spiteful and ignore boys she actually really liked, but Sakura still had the awful habit of pretending she hated boys she was attracted to.

Of course, the heartache she had endured then had been nothing to the real thing. At the age of 20, Sakura had been convinced she had found the one in her first boyfriend Sai, who she had met at university. He, unfortunately, had other ideas on what love was and finished with her just before her 21st birthday, claiming he didn't fancy her anymore, and wasn't entirely sure he had ever loved her to begin with. It had taken Sakura a year to get over him, and she had not had another boyfriend since. She was happy single, or at least she had yet to meet a man she actually wanted to risk her heart for again. Sakura told herself that actually she didn't want love, that love was for idiots who just couldn't handle being on their own with their own insipid thoughts, and that if she ended up alone with just her and her cat Tonton (so named by her friend Tenten whilst drunk and convinced she herself was a cat), then so be it. She would be happy on her own, with her hundreds of pairs of shoes, and friends for human company when needed. When other _needs_ presented them self, Sakura could just indulge in meaningless one night stands. She had it all planned. Honestly.

Even though she would be fine if she lived the rest of her life this way, at her core Sakura was a hopeless romantic who wanted someone to sweep her off her feet and love her unconditionally until her dying day. However, being a single 28 year old woman at a family wedding pushed her to reiterate her own happiness at singledom to every elder female member of her family, so that her artificial happiness at being alone and dateless at a wedding was so engrained in her psyche, she believed it herself.

The first dance song had ended and Sakura was currently watching the rest of guests take to the floor. Her eyes softened when she caught sight of her parents slow dancing, somehow, to 'Come on Eileen', lost in each other while the rest of the world moved around them. Her parents had the best marriage going. Unlike her friends and her cousins who were the apples of their parents eyes, Sakura and her younger brother and sister always knew that the love their parents had for each other surpassed even the unconditional love they felt for their children. Not that they weren't loved; Sakura's parents had more than enough love to share amongst them. Memories of her childhood consisted of Sunday mornings in bed with her parents and siblings laughing together, family dinners and holidays and every night being tucked in to bed by her parents with a kiss and an I-love-you. But although her friends were the centre of their parent's world, surpassing any romantic love they had for each other, Sakura's parents love for each other was impossible to top. Sakura's parents were the loving centre of their family, with a love so unconditional for each other that it spilled over to their children, so Sakura and her siblings never had a day go by where they didn't feel loved and appreciated.

Perhaps that is why Sakura herself was so picky. No one she had met after Sai had given her any feelings that closely resembled what her parents had. She knew it was unlikely that she would find something even remotely similar, but in her mind, she wouldn't give up the happiness she felt at being single for anything less.

She was awaken from her reverie by a large hand twisting her chair to the left and a shout of "SAKURA, DARLING!" before she was enveloped into a hug. From the strong smell of a particular perfume she never remembered the name of, she knew it was her Auntie Yuzoko, her mums eldest sister. When she was finally released and able to breath, she slyly felt under the table with her right hand to confirm that her bottle of wine was still upright. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when her hand came into contact with the glass bottle, and she plastered a huge smile on her face for her auntie, knowing what conversation was about to take place and preparing herself to put on a pretence of extra happiness.

"Auntie Yuzoko!"

"Sakura darling you look so tired, you need to rest yourself honey that hospital really works you to the bone!" her Auntie exclaimed, pinching Sakura's cheek as though this would magically relieve the tiredness. Her Auntie Yuzoko was a huge, loud and extremely loving woman. Despite her loving nature she wasn't one for tact, and was renowned for saying uncomfortable truths out loud with no concern about the effect it would have.

"I'm fine, auntie I told you. And if anything has made me tired it's the wedding preparations", Sakura exclaimed with a false chuckle, as though she had actually enjoyed the torturous lead up to her cousins wedding, wondering to herself when it became the lead in for a conversation for older people to comment on how much sleep you get. When she was the aunt at weddings of the future she would make a conscious effort to leave out a comment on appearances and wellbeing.

"Well Saki those preparations are necessary for a wedding which you will realise if you ever find someone to marry you," her aunt let out a great, honking laugh at this observation. 'Saki' was a nickname her family as given her from an early age, and no matter how much she had protested against it in later years, she had not quite managed to banish from their vocabulary.

"I am joking Saki, I know your style, one night stands! Take home someone you never have to see again. You remind me so much of myself when I was young..."

Her auntie missed the involuntary shudder that Sakura released in reaction to their conversation as at that moment another of her aunties made her way to the table. Her Aunt Yorika was infamous, not only in their family but throughout their town, for the amount of husbands she had procured. Currently on number four, who had actually lasted seven years so far much to everyone's surprise, Yorika was particularly vocal about Sakura's lack of boyfriend, let alone husband.

"Saki, Yuzoko, move over, my poor feet are killing me!" she demanded, shoving the pair over a seat each, which Sakura somehow managed to do while manoeuvring her wine and plate full of cake with her.

"Saki you can't sit here all night, come and dance! You might find yourself a man; these Uchiha's surely are something!"

Her cousin had married in to the Uchiha family, who like her own, were renowned in their town mostly for the sheer amount of them. Sakura had known a few of the family members in school, and it was not the first time one of her own family members had married an Uchiha. Her auntie was not wrong, they really were something. The majority of them, apart from a few anomalies, had dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, and every last one of them was drop dead gorgeous. The other bridesmaid, the sister of the groom, had even managed to pull of the orange eyesore they were forced to wear.

Her mother's family in contrast had a assortment of features, and although her family had their fair share of lookers, it was balanced out by more than a few eccentrics. Her father's family were a different matter all together, as the majority of them had somehow been born with pink hair. Although Sakura was sure that Mother Nature's gene pool was thankful that the Haruno's were not nearly as big as her mother's family, and Sakura and her sister, Mariko, were the only other people at the wedding, beside her father, who had inherited the offending hair colour.

"Oh that's fine, I'm quite happy observing Yorika!"

"Yes and that kind of attitude is why you are always the bridesmaid and never the bride, honey. It must be awful for you, your younger cousin getting married and you haven't even brought a long a date! At your age I was on to my second marriage." It was typical, Sakura noted, for someone to mention that Emi was younger, despite the fact it was by a mere five weeks.

"Yes, because you are such a great advert for marriage Yorika," her Aunt Yuzoko countered, again emitting her honking laugh which caused a few Uchiha's who were sitting at a table next to theirs to look over utterly perplexed.

Sakura felt a twinge of gratefulness for her Aunt Yuzoko at that moment, and hid her smile by eating another forkful of the delicious cake. If there was one thing that Sakura could admit she liked about weddings it was the cake.

"But in all seriousness Saki," her Aunt Yorika continued, "does it not upset you that your cousins and friends are marrying? Even your little sister has found someone to at least bring along!" she said pointing in the distance to where Mariko and her boyfriend were sitting. Of course her Aunt would fail to notice that her sister looked bored beyond belief, while her boyfriend was no doubt going on about his job. Sakura declined to mention the fact that her sister's boyfriend was one of the reasons why she hadn't bothered looking for a date for the wedding; he truly was enough to put anyone off the male sex. Sakura made a mental note to ask Mariko when she was going to finish with him.

"Well yes it does make me sad, but then I get to continue having meaningless sex with guests at weddings, and this thought is what sustains me through my loneliness," Sakura deadpanned, " besides, when Britney met the one he turned out to be Kevin Federline and look how well that turned out."

This is what weddings for Sakura consisted of. Either her aunties enquiring about the state of her love life, or her cousins and sister telling her they were sure she'd find someone. Eventually.

Sakura was sure someone to her right was laughing but before she could turn her head, her Aunt Yorika grabbed her chin so she had no choice but to look at her botoxed face.

"Saki, humour will not get you a husband! Now finish that cake- if you must, really if I were single I'd be watching my weight- and then join us on the dance floor." And with her motivational speech at an end, she sauntered off, presumably in search for her husband to boss around, but, really, no one would have been surprised if she actually were looking for a suitable Uchiha to become husband number five.

"Ooo, see you out their Saki, I just spotted your Great Aunt Mai light up a cigarette, I'd best put a stop to that before she sets another wedding on fire!"

Watching her eldest aunt charge off, Sakura wondered why marriage and babies were always the main topic of enquiry for women at weddings. She knew her brother and male cousins didn't have to put up with this, not even her cousin Daichi, who had just turned 40 and did not look like he was settling down any time soon.

'Hell,' she thought 'I'm a successful doctor and nobody asks me about that, or congratulates me on how well my career is going! Why do women have to be defined by their ability to capture a man, have what will likely be an unhappy marriage, and then pop out a few snotty kids!'

She indignantly reached for her secret bottle of wine, swigging it from the bottle and angrily slamming it back on the table, passed caring if anyone noticed her downing a bottle of wine to herself. In her anger she barely heard the snort coming from her right. She turned her head to look straight in to the face of the most handsome man she had ever met. Johnny Depp, hell, even Adonis, had nothing on this guy! She was sure guys like this didn't actually exist in the real world, but were instead trapped in the pages of her favourite romantic novels, on canvases in art galleries and behind the screens in movies. Her face instantly coloured and she wished to be a million miles away from this spot. Here was the best looking man she had ever been blessed enough to look at, and she was in the world's worst dress, which she was sure, knowing her eating habits, had cake on it, and was currently cradling a half empty bottle of wine.

The man himself was looking at her with a smirk on his gorgeous face, leaning on one hand casually. "Annoying. Trust me to end up seated next to the drunk, feminist, single girl at the wedding."

"Excuse me, I..."

"There is always at least one lonely girl, drinking on her own, trying to convince herself she is happy without a man, and that she is happy not to be the bride because she is sure that marriage is a farce."

Sakura spluttered in indignation at the cheek of this dazzling, sexy, _irritating_ man. "Look mister high and mighty, I am not trying to convince myself! I am happy, this wedding has proved to me how ridiculous marriage is and I KNOW I don't need a man to verify my existence! And if you hadn't noticed, alcoholism is not something to joke about, particularly to a member of my family!" Sakura retorted pointing at the bar which currently propped up two of her Uncles and her cousin Kazuo, who had apparently completed their wedding tradition of ten tequila's each in five minutes and were each laughing hysterically at what Sakura knew were unfunny jokes.

"That is not what I'm saying. No one needs another person to verify their existence, but that does not mean you don't wish there was someone who could enhance it. It is justifiable to be happy single, but it would be foolish to say you actually want to be on your own forever, Sakura."

"How did you know my name?" she asked suspiciously. Really, it was a wonder she hadn't noticed him before this moment. She was sure she would never in her life forget his face, and she found herself vaguely hoping that another of her cousins would marry an Uchiha so she could see him again. There was no doubt he belonged to that inexplicably handsome family.

"I've been here the entire time. I've seen you get accosted by numerous female family members and watched you drinking that wine you thought you'd kept hidden from the entire wedding party" the man replied, staring into what Sakura knew had to be her soul. If she ever doubted she had one, there was no doubt now.

"W-wow," she stuttered, determined not to let him belittle her with his fancy monologues of nonsense, and stunning features, "I didn't realise I had my own stalker, who apparently has the ability to know someone's character in one evening! How dare you be so presumptuous to claim I am such a cliché!"

"I see I hit a nerve," he smirked, "that tends to happen when someone gets close to the truth."

"Why are you so damn smug!" she shouted over the music. The alcohol had begun to take effect, giving her enough dutch courage to be beyond caring that she was angry at a face that could probably launch another thousand ships, even today when, really, who even used ships anymore? Maybe planes, yes planes of women who would fight to the death for him.

"Because I am right. I've seen it before at weddings, single twenty-something girls who probably are very happy by themselves, but still feel the need to convince their family and strangers that not only are they happy alone, but are actually _choosing _to be because they don't believe in love, and think that romance and marriage is bullshit. When in truth, they just haven't found what they are looking for. And more often than not, what they are looking for doesn't actually exist."

Sighing in defeat, Sakura took another swig of her wine, leaning back in her chair. "When did you get so clued up about single, drunk women? Or really, I shouldn't have to ask that, look at you! You are exactly the type of guy that single, drunk women like to talk to."

"I see you've noticed that I'm...handsome."

"Oh, so humble too!"

"Well I won't deny it, but that's not what I meant. In fairness, you have barely noticed me all day as you've been so caught up in your own sorrows. I've learned these details from years of attending family weddings and observing girls just like you. I'm not very talkative so I am able to sit back and observe these things that most people are blind to at these occasions."

"Well you could have fooled me; you haven't stopped talking to me, telling me my faults..."

"Not faults, they are just observations Sakura."

"Well seeing as you know my name what's yours? I can tell you are a Uchiha, what with the dark hair and . . . well, the hotness . . ."

"You think I'm hot?"

"You know I do..." Sakura blushed, glad she currently had a great deal of wine making its way around her body, making her feel comfortably warm, and only slightly embarrassed at having admitted that she found the man she was talking to be, well, _hot_.

"I am teasing you Sakura. It's Sasuke. And yes I'm an Uchiha, my cousin is the groom"

Sasuke! She had definitely heard about a Sasuke Uchiha from Emi in the run up to the wedding. He had gone to a prestigious boarding school at the age of twelve and so hadn't attended school with Sakura like his family, and so Sakura had never met him before despite him only being two years older than her. If he'd only been two years above her at school she definitely would have remembered him.

There was a comfortable silence between them as they looked between each other and the dance floor. Sakura found silences unbearable normally, and often looked to fill the silence, worried that the other person would find her boring if she couldn't keep a conversation going. Sasuke apparently didn't feel the need to fill every silence with benign chatter. No, apparently Sasuke just liked to talk when he wanted to point out 'observations' he'd made about people, which were apparently so important to for her to hear.

"Well you have to admit Sasuke, this wedding actually was ridiculous. I mean who has 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' for their first dance! That's pretty much confirming you're marrying for the sake of it..."

"I saw you rolling your eyes when it was on," Sasuke smirked "I do agree. The last cousin of mine that got married had November Rain for their first dance, in its entirety."

"November Rain? Surely the most epic break up song of all time? See this is why weddings are ridiculous, the wrong type of people get married. If I ever get married I'm going to elope and my first dance will be to "There is a Light and it Never Goes Out". Romance but without the sap."

"You say this, but I can tell you want all this yourself. Minus the awful choice of first dance, possibly."

"Oh really, something else you observed about me? Why have you been watching me exactly, Sasuke."

"It's not every day you come across a beautiful woman with pink hair that looks good in an awful orange dress," Sasuke stated, again trapping her with those incredible eyes.

Sakura's face heated up at his words, and she turned back to the dance floor to hide it, catching the majority of her own family and the Uchiha's pretending to actually enjoy doing the Macarena.

Sasuke continued, "And I know you like romance and love more then you claim to because I saw the way you were looking at your parents. Anybody would be lying if they said they didn't want a love like that."

Sakura didn't find it strange that Sasuke had noticed the love that her parents shared, it was in plain sight for most strangers to understand. "How did you know they were my parents?"

"Well you, your dad, and who I assume is your sister are the only three at this wedding with pink hair. Though it undoubtedly looks best on you" he stated, fingering some of her hair that had come free from her standard 'bridesmaid up-do'.

"Wow. You really are a smooth talker, I bet you say this to all the lonely drunk girls you observe at weddings" Sakura said, determined not to let the butterflies, which were currently trying to constrict her breathing, get the better of her rational self.

"You'd think so but no. Unlike what your aunt suggested about you, I don't do one night stands at weddings, or ever. I just find it easy to talk to you for some reason."

"It might have something to do with the fact I have pink hair and look like I've just come from the set of Gone With the Wind," she said pointing to her skirt, "It would be hard to be intimidated by all this taffeta."

Sasuke smirked. "No I don't think so, I just think sometimes we click with certain people. And just from observing you Sakura I feel like I know a lot about you. Besides, despite knowing that you wouldn't object to some romance, I can tell you don't need a man. You are just waiting for the right one before you give up your freedom."

"That is what I've been trying to tell you! To tell me aunts . . ."

"But Sakura, there is no need to pretend you don't want romance." He was looking into her soul again, the cheeky, distracting bastard, and Sakura noticed that they had somehow managed to get closer throughout the conversation so they were leaning in to each other. "Dance with me Sakura."

"Oh...no, I don't really dance at these things..."

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor, ignoring her protests. "Sasuke, please, I look ridiculous!"

He spun her into his chest, holding her lower back and right hand, as though he were about to lead her around the dance floor in an old-fashioned waltz. "You look beautiful Sakura. And orange happens to be one of my favourite colours."

"Really?"

"No, it's a hideous colour. Reminds me of my best friend."

"That is a really strange sentence Sasuke, why would being reminded of your best friend be a bad thing?"

"You'd know if you met him. Am I making you feel better about the dress though?"

Sakura laughed, "Just slightly, Mr. Uchiha."

"Besides, I don't really dance either. But I want to see you dance, and hopefully make your aunties leave you alone for the rest of the wedding too."

As she danced on the dance floor with Sasuke, who didn't really dance but held her hand and moved her round, his eyes never leaving her, she caught the thumbs up from many of family. Her cousin Risa showed her approval by thrusting the air in a manner that caused Sakura to start giggling.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"You know, I actually am. I think it's a first for a family wedding."

"Good." He was smirking again, a sight that, now she was standing, caused Sakura's legs to momentarily lose feeling, and she gripped his arms so that she could remain upright.

"You know, seeing as I don't do one night stands Sakura," he said, lowering his mouth to her ear, "if it's alright with you, after tonight, I'd like to take you out for breakfast in the morning, and possibly dinner at some point too"

Sakura momentarily lost the ability to speak, so Sasuke took her stunned silence as a yes. Which is what she'd been trying to say, of course.

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**My first attempt at fan fiction! I got the idea from a conversation I had, and then hearing the offending song on the radio. I gave Sakura a big family because I have always been curious about her family, and it's familiar territory for me. Sasuke is a little out of character too, (OK A LOT out of character) but this interpretation worked for my story**

**I had a lot of fun writing this but didn't have the guts to upload for a while, please leave any constructive criticism if you have the time :)**


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